EU is Ready to Rebuild Trust between Azerbaijan and Armenia: EU Special Envoy

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, said at a news conference in Yerevan that the EU is disappointed over the fact that the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents failed to come to an agreement at their recent meeting in Saint-Petersburg, PanARMENIAN reports.

"However, we are hopeful that the sides will concentrate during the coming months and a mutual compromise will be achieved before Armenian and Azerbaijani presidential election. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has lasted for a long time already and a whole generation unaware of the conflict has grown in both countries. Protraction of this situation is pregnant with complications up to hostilities. The EU is ready to rebuild trust between the states, which was lost during 15 years," Mr Semneby said.

At that the EU Envoy thinks that the situation has not reached a deadlock, as the negotiations are not stopped.

Touching upon the involvement of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiations process, the EU Envoy said that presently it is not important. According to him, by the time Armenia and Azerbaijan come to an agreement the presence of Karabakh's representatives will be necessary.

"I cannot say whether the opinion of Karabakh people will be decisive during elaboration of an agreement, but their opinion will be certainly taken into account," Peter Semneby said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.